Sunday, August 10, 2003

Are they here yet?

Yes, I'm talking about Powerbooks again, and this time I'm comparing Powerbook rumors with the talk of an Apple announcement on the 18th or 19th (sounds like fun!).

Considering how overdue these new Powerbooks are (particularly the 15" PB), it seems that the most likely candidate for any new hardware announcement will be this pesky portable update.

So, if Apple's really planning on announcing new Powerbooks in just a week or so, are there still wacky delays flying about?
Probably.

There have been two major rumored sources for delays on this Powerbook announcement. The first is design problems with the new 15.4" Aluminum Powerbook. The second is development problems with the latest and "greatest" (term used lightly) G4 at Motorola. If either (or, dare I say, both) is (or, dare I say, are) the case, Apple could still announce new Powerbooks, and possibly ship some models. Apple's history should be quite clear in the "Announce v. Shipping" situation. Announcements definitely don't mean immediate shipping (alas...).

Let's just assume that there's an active delay still slowing things down (let's face it, there probably is). Despite my distrust of Moto's processor development, my bet's that the 15" AlBook is the cause of our long, long wait. Assuming I'm right (which is a pretty big assumption), the new 12" and 17" Powerbooks may be rolling off the assembly lines as you read this, and they could in fact be ready to go as of next week (this would be most likely with the 12", considering how much work has to go into the 17"). Now, to be realistic (aw shucks!), near-immediate availability is a bit much to wish for on a new hardware update, but it is a possibility.

Lastly here, I've got to point out that I'm basing the announcement/availability assumptions in this post on the idea that Apple will announce something new on the 18th or 19th. Simply put, I'm basing rumors on other rumors. Like all rumors, each of these rumors need to be taken with a grain of salt (yes, even that rumor, too). We all know that rumors aren't sure things, and it's particularly dangerous to mix rumor with rumor, particularly when you use those rumors to make assumptions about other rumors.
Alright, most of the above paragraph was jibberishy. What matters is that you should take this with an extra bit of caution, because it's a rumor based on another rumor (and sure, I could just delete the previous paragraph and leave this one instead, but what fun would that be?).

Expect some interesting speculation to emerge next week (but what could possibly be more interesting than this?).